JoeMercer'sWay
Well-Known Member
Neville Kneville said:JoeMercer'sWay said:twosips said:I think mistakes are likely, and to be understood, but i do think there's an element of truth in what Kneville's saying. I watched his game the other night, not the champs league one, and i found that he was hiding a little. Thought he needed to be a bit more proactive in seeking out ways to get himself involved. I'm putting it down to mass confusion and a little bit of nervousness but it is something he'll have to learn.
Like I said, it's August, he still needs to settle in, find his feet in a new country and adjust to a whole manner of things, including likely different training styles, language, culture, the fact its his first loan etc. The reality is until the manager has the faith to put him in for longer spells and regularly from the start, he will perhaps struggle to quite stamp his authority on the side, but I've no doubt that over a season, because of his talent and generally solid attitude, that he'll begin to make an impression, whether it ends up being enough for us who knows, but I think we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves either way.
I just think he can put a bit more in, even if he doesn't quite perform as well as he would like, he has plenty of time to improve in that respect, but I don't like to see him jogging sometimes when some of his team mates are sprinting past him to cover or to get into attacking positions. One attack they had on a breakaway the other day & Lopes wasn't in camera shot when the ball was delivered. He should have been on the edge of the box. Then when it was cleared, players who were in front of him, ran past him. I'm not saying he goes missing every time, but in his current situation he wouldn't of matched up to Sterling for workrate, on Monday for example. He can do more.
perhaps, I've only see one Lille game with him, but we don't know what the coach is telling him to do and perhaps he can build that awareness over the season, the same way Jovetic is gradually improving in a game sense as the understanding with his team mates develops, and correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't he used more as a left winger/sided attacking midfielder, certainly in first team games, with us? So maybe he is having to learn his responsibilities as well.
I'd give him time either way, and I don't think there's any need for anybody to be getting wound up about it on here, especially in August (not a dig at you, just a comment on the general back and forth exchanges that have been going on this afternoon).